Unwelcome Prospects
by lefcadio
Summary: Daisuke x Ken. Spring brings many things, some more unpleasant than others.


"…not long, huh."

He spoke quietly, and his words were barely audible over the persistent mechanical humming of the train.

Ken heard anyway.

"No, I suppose not."

The windows were black, and occasionally it seemed as though the nothingness beyond would move; the artificial light which filled the carriage would flicker momentarily and then steady itself. Though it was late, there was only ever one time of day in the subways of Tokyo.

Daisuke stared down at his feet, one hand resting absently on the small, sleeping V-mon curled up in his lap. It just wasn't fair.

"_Yurakucho. We are now stopping at Yurakucho_."

The formal, toneless voice rang out as the train slid to a stop, and several of the other passengers in their carriage disembarked, leaving only them and a few lone businessmen.

He wasn't usually an introspective person, he knew that, but… as the doors slid shut with a hiss, he couldn't help but sneak a glance at Ken who was sitting next to him, clutching Wormmon close and staring blankly ahead of him. This was… weird; it just shouldn't be like this.

He cleared his throat and began to speak, noticing how Ken jumped almost imperceptibly. "So, um… today was fun, right?" Daisuke smiled, though he didn't really feel it, and saw a strange flash of something pass briefly through Ken's eyes.

"Yeah… of course. It was nice seeing everyone again." Ken pushed ineffectually at his scarf, and Daisuke looked away as he was given that same forced half-smile he had hoped he'd never see again.

Yeah. It _had_ been fun - Daisuke could say that honestly. But behind all that, there was the sadness that none of them seemed to want to acknowledge. They'd had their hanami party - which, at Miyako's insistence they had all trekked to Ueno Park for - and, technically, it had been perfect. To Daisuke's surprise they'd actually managed to find a free spot, and the blossoms had been wonderful - though truth be told, Daisuke had been more impressed by the food than the flowers.

They had all sat together, talking and eating until late into the evening - the many red lanterns strung around the park had come on, lighting up the pathways and casting their gentle glow. It had been the perfect temporary cure for the gloom which had recently settled over Daisuke - but with the distraction over, it had inevitably returned. Spring, he thought darkly - especially _this_ Spring - didn't just bring the prettiness of sakura blossoms.

He frowned and tapped his foot in irritation. He knew he shouldn't be so upset over something like this… but he couldn't help it. And judging from the solemn expression on Ken's face, he knew (with some small measure of satisfaction) that he wasn't the only one.

"_Shimbashi. We are now stopping at Shimbashi_."

Daisuke stifled a yawn and stretched out a little, "it's not far now, right?"

"Hm? Oh," Ken blinked distractedly and shook his head, turning his ticket over in his hand distractedly, "no, there's only one more stop after this."

It had been Ken's idea for him to stay over after the hanami party, and Daisuke had accepted with a grin, despite the fact that Tamachi was halfway across the city from Ueno. But besides, he had thought, it was much too far for Ken to travel by himself late at night - better if they both went.

Silence fell once more, and managed to reign unbroken until the train finally pulled into Tamachi station. It must have emerged above ground at some point - though with the darkness it was hard to pinpoint exactly when. There was a chilly breeze blowing when they stepped out onto the dimly lit platform, holding their sleeping digimon - and as their eyes met, they both glanced away.

"This way, then," Ken gestured with his free hand and Daisuke followed obediently, even though he'd been here so many times now he could probably find the way with his eyes closed.

A few drops of rain began to fall.

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"Ken?"

He wasn't sure why he whispered; he knew Ken was awake - could hear him breathing softly, almost irregularly in the darkness. He tugged his covers up to his chin, and reached up a hand to run his fingers through the damp spikes of his hair - predictably, they'd managed to get caught in the worst of the rain shower before finally making it to Ken's apartment block.

Daisuke's eyes were adjusted, now, and he could make out all of the shapes of the room, draped in shadows. There was a faint rustling from further up beside him, and he saw Ken shift, turning so that he was half-sitting up, peering down at Daisuke.

"Mm?"

"I…" He fumbled slightly with the irresponsiveness, but forged on regardless, "this is weird, and I don't like it. We've barely said a word this evening, and it just seems…" he trailed off, suddenly unsure of what exactly it was he meant.

But it was Ken who continued, sighing and pushing aside strands of his mussed hair. "I know. I'm… sorry. And it's all my fault, too--"

"No!" Daisuke interrupted him, raising himself up on his elbows and shaking his head emphatically. "It's… not." He slumped back down onto his pillow and saw Ken gazing down at him, expression worried.

"But, I…"

"Nah," Daisuke tried to sound casual, as though all his fears had been pushed aside, "it'll be okay. I'm sure we'll still get to meet up all the time!"

This was just met with silence, though, and Daisuke bit his lip, all too aware of the faint tremor in his voice.

"…do you really think so?" There was only a small measure of hope in that quiet question, but Daisuke was determined to make the most of it, if only he could get Ken to really _smile_ again. It unsettled him a little to think that he hadn't really noticed when he'd stopped.

"Yeah! I mean, sure, we'll be in school most of the week, and… you'll probably have juku soon, huh, and… the work will probably get piled on, but… there'll always be summer?" he felt his stomach twist as he saw Ken's face fall. Yeah, that really hadn't been any comfort at all.

It just wasn't fair.

It was less than a week until they started high school. It had always seemed like such a distant concept - even when they were sitting the entrance exams, and he _knew_ that Ken's parents were making him sit for one in Tamachi - even when they got their results, and it was slightly more definite… he supposed he'd just never really thought it would happen.

He looked up in surprise as he heard a noise, and saw Ken quietly slipping out of bed. He assumed he'd head for the hallway, but instead he merely turned, and knelt down next to Daisuke.

"Daisuke… this is it, then?"

There was a strangely fearful note in Ken's voice, and Daisuke's throat was tight, and all he could do was nod. He didn't know what to say or how to act - all he knew is that he didn't want to lose his best friend, and yet now he had no choice.

There was only a short pause, then, before Ken was suddenly leaning down over him. Daisuke's breath caught in his throat as he felt lips pressed to his own, and their noses bumped clumsily, eyes wide open in the dark.

He jumped back a little in surprise, and immediately felt a stab of horror at the look of sad…expectancy? that had settled across Ken's shadowed features. Daisuke stared in confusion, lips still warm from Ken's kiss. Afterwards, he would admit that he had no idea what he'd been thinking, but with Ken still in front of him, and a lingering sense of uncertain anticipation inside him, all he could think about was making Ken smile. About not wanting to lose him to some snobby Tamachi high school, and about how he wanted…

He tentatively raised a hand, reaching up to brush the side of Ken's cheek. A faint look of surprise passed across the other's face, but he allowed himself to be pulled down, and Daisuke tangled his fingers in the damp knots of Ken's dark hair. It was all small kisses and hot breath and awkwardness, and Daisuke couldn't help but grin, and Ken smiled almost shyly, as though he couldn't believe it.

Daisuke felt his heart lift; there it was, a real smile again.

They fell asleep together, there on the floor; Ken half lying on Daisuke's side, arm draped over his chest, the two small digimon curled up together at the end of the bed, the room filled with the soft sound of Daisuke's snoring.

As he drifted of to sleep, though, Daisuke knew that, in a way, they had just made things worse for themselves. But they'd been willing to try and work it out before, and in that sense, nothing had changed.

Yes, that year, spring brought the sakura - but it also brought them something else far more important.


End file.
